Tell us about yourself:
I am a civil and water resources engineer whose research focuses on advancing flood hazard modeling through machine learning, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, and geospatial analysis. I earned my PhD in Civil Engineering with a specialization in Water Resources Engineering from Florida State University in 2025, where my dissertation focused on improving machine-learning-based frameworks for hindcasting major flood events.
My work integrates physics-based modeling, high-water mark observations, uncertainty analysis, and data-driven approaches to estimate flood depths across coastal watersheds. I have also contributed to interdisciplinary research linking extreme floods to indoor mold exposure and respiratory health outcomes.
My broader experience includes water distribution system modeling, GIS-based analysis, climate resilience, and leadership in graduate student and professional communities.
What is your research about?
My research focuses on improving how we model and understand the impacts of extreme flood events. I use machine learning, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, and geospatial data analysis to hindcast flood characteristics such as maximum water depths in coastal watersheds. A major goal of my work is to develop computationally efficient approaches that can support flood risk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and climate resilience planning.
During my PhD at Florida State University, I studied how different data sources, including high-water marks, off-channel observations, elevation data, rainfall, wind, storm surge, and soil moisture, can improve machine-learning-based flood depth estimation. My work also examined the transferability of machine learning models across flood events and watersheds, which is critical for applying these tools beyond one specific storm or study area.
In addition to flood depth modeling, I have worked on interdisciplinary research connecting flood hazards with indoor environmental quality and public health, including modeling post-flood mold growth and respiratory health risks in residential buildings.
What excites you about your research?
What excites me most about my research is the opportunity to make flood modeling more practical, efficient, and useful for real-world decision-making. Floods are complex events, and their impacts extend beyond water depth or inundation maps. I am excited by the challenge of combining machine learning, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, geospatial data, and field observations to better understand how major flood events unfold and how their impacts can be predicted.
I am especially interested in developing models that are not only accurate, but also transferable and interpretable, so they can support flood risk assessment, emergency response, and resilience planning across different watersheds and storm events. Another exciting part of my work is connecting flood hazards to broader consequences, such as indoor mold growth and respiratory health risks, which helps show how extreme events can affect communities long after floodwaters recede.
What broader importance does your research have for society?
My research is important for society because it helps improve how we understand, predict, and prepare for extreme flood events. By developing efficient machine-learning-based tools for estimating flood depths, my work can support flood risk mapping, emergency response, infrastructure planning, and community resilience. I also study cascading impacts of flooding, such as indoor mold growth and respiratory health risks, which shows that flood consequences can continue long after floodwaters recede. Ultimately, I hope my research helps communities make better decisions before, during, and after floods.
What inspired you to pursue a career in Earth Science?
My inspiration came from seeing how closely water systems are connected to people’s daily lives, safety, and well-being. Early in my career, I worked on water distribution systems, hydraulic modeling, water quality, and emergency water supply challenges, which showed me how important engineering decisions are for communities. Over time, I became more interested in larger-scale water-related hazards, especially flooding, hurricanes, and climate-driven extreme events.
What drew me to Earth Science is that it allows me to study these complex natural processes while also developing practical tools to reduce risk. Floods are not only physical events; they affect infrastructure, homes, public health, and long-term recovery. That connection between Earth systems and human impacts inspired me to pursue research that combines water resources engineering, geospatial analysis, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, and machine learning to better understand and respond to extreme events.
What are your short and/or long-term goals in your EPSP journey?
In the short term, I hope to use my EPSP journey to deepen my understanding of Earth surface processes, flood hazards, and data-driven modeling methods, while learning from a broader community of researchers working on rivers, coasts, extreme events, and landscape change. In the long term, my goal is to develop practical and interpretable modeling tools that connect flood science with real-world decision-making, including flood risk mapping, infrastructure resilience, emergency response, and climate adaptation. I also hope to continue building interdisciplinary connections between flood modeling, engineering, public health, and community resilience.
Given unlimited funding and access to resources, what is your dream project that you would pursue?
My dream project would be to build an integrated flood-impact observatory that connects flood processes with infrastructure, buildings, indoor environments, and public health. With unlimited resources, I would combine hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, remote sensing, field observations, building inspections, indoor mold sampling, and health data to understand the full life cycle of flood impacts. I would also develop transferable and interpretable machine-learning tools to estimate flood depths and predict cascading impacts such as indoor mold growth and respiratory health risks. Ultimately, I hope such a project could help communities make better decisions before, during, and after floods and support more resilient and equitable recovery.
What else do you do? Any hobbies or interests outside of work?
Outside of work, I enjoy dancing, spending time in nature, going to the beach, and having picnics with friends and family. Dancing is especially meaningful to me because it combines movement, culture, creativity, and community. During graduate school, I organized weekly Iranian dance classes, which was a fun way to share culture and bring people together. I also love being near water and outdoors, which helps me recharge and stay connected to the natural systems that inspire my research.
Learn more about Maryam at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryam-pakdehi-b164488a/